“Permitted to you on the nights of fasting are sexual relations with your wives. They are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them. Allah knows that you had been betraying yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and pardoned you. Therefore, now lie with them and seek what Allah has decreed for you. Eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread. Then complete the fast until nightfall. But do not lie with them while you are in spiritual retreat in the mosques. These are the limits set by Allah, so do not approach them. Thus Allah makes His verses clear to people, so that they may become God-fearing.” (187)

Concerning His saying, “Permitted to you on the nights of fasting are sexual relations with your wives”: sexual relations is a euphemism for intercourse. Ibn ‘Abbas said: “Allah is Most Modest and Generous; whenever the Quran mentions direct contact, touching, sexual intimacy, entering, or sexual relations, it means intercourse.” Al-Zajjaj said: “Sexual relations is a comprehensive term for everything men desire from women.”

The exegetes said: At the beginning of the matter, when a man broke his fast, food, drink, and intercourse were lawful for him until he performed the later night prayer or went to sleep before it. Once he had performed the night prayer, or slept before it, food and women became forbidden to him until the following night.

Then ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, had intercourse with his wife after performing the night prayer. When he had bathed, he began to weep and blame himself. He came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I apologize to Allah and to you for this sinful self of mine. After I had performed the night prayer, I returned to my wife and found a pleasant fragrance. My soul enticed me, and I had intercourse with my wife. Is there any concession for me?” The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: “You ought not to have done that, O ‘Umar.” Then some men stood and confessed to having done the same. Thus this was revealed concerning ‘Umar and his companions: (1).